Cynthia Erivo: Wicked is a cultural movement
Cynthia Erivo thinks that the role of Elphaba in the "cultural movement" that is the Wicked films has been transformative for her career.
Cynthia Erivo thinks the Wicked films have been a "cultural movement".
The 38-year-old actress has played Elphaba in the movie adaptations of the hit musical and says that the green witch will "always be a part of me".
Asked to give her final words for the character, Cynthia told Variety: "I would love to thank her for ushering me into another chapter of my life that I could never have imagined.
"This isn't just a popular film - it's a cultural movement. I'm really grateful to have been the vessel through which this character could be brought to life. She'll always be a part of me. She definitely has a big chunk of my heart."
Cynthia explained that she is most proud of the way in which Elphaba has helped people going through real-life troubles.
She recalled: "I saw a talk show with this young girl who had just come out of cancer. She said seeing me with no hair made her feel like she could be OK too. Those are the moments that really shift things for me - knowing people are meeting themselves again through this character. That, for me, is really special."
The Harriet star explained that she can relate to the feeling of being misunderstood like Elphaba but has learned to live with it.
Erivo said: "I think I've learned to sort of let that be what it is. I can't change people's minds.
"I've had my No Good Deed moments. I have learned that you cannot please everyone. Everyone is not going to understand who you are, and some people won't want to.
"That's okay. I can't change every single person's mind in the world, but my job is to keep growing as a human being and being what I perceive to be a good person. That's all I can do."
Cynthia described the filming of the song No Good Deed as one of the toughest parts of production as she was completely isolated during the sequence.
She said: "It was the craziest couple of days I've ever had to shoot, and also really lonely. There was nobody there. It was just me. I couldn't even seen Jon (M. Chu, the director). An empty room with the plinths and whatnot.
"The set is built, but the blue screen was around us. So really it was just all imagination and feeling to do it."
